Michael Hibbard

Tag: existence

Its only been a few weeks since I re-discovered my love for the water. I should have understood this fact from the beginning as I’ve lived near the water at the highest points in my life. However, life often blinds us to the simple things that enrich our lives.

I have spent so much time on my friend’s boat this summer, that I can feel the gentle rocking of the river even when I am lying still on my couch. It’s an exhilarating experience when you first step onto the boat, feeling how small you are compared to the might of the James river. You can feel the boat responding subtly to your movement as you shift from port to starboard. And the smell of the water overwhelms your mind with a melange of fragrances, carried on gentle breezes in heat and in cold.

I do love the excitement of fishing, especially for catfish. It has nothing at all to do with the need to forage for food. It is much more than that. When you are pulling in the fish, you have to be the fish for that span of time between hooking and landing. For that short time, you have to be one with the fish, understanding how you would try to escape what you feel to be an inevitable end your existence. You can sense the primal fear that is coursing through its veins as you try to coax it to the surface. But, the fish is not wise enough to know who I am, or understand that I simply wish to catch it and release it back — and create an adventure for another day.

Friday, I was fishing and I landed a four pound catfish — miniscule compared the river monsters that lurk in the depths of the channel I fish. That fish found me with the vigor or any human — rolling over, thrashing, trying to wrap my line around a pier. It breached the surface three times in my twenty-minute struggle — that deep blue and white indicative of the species — teasing me with each laborious moment. And, when I finally landed it, we saw eye to eye. The fish acquiesced to the fact that I had bested it. However, what was absent in its vacant black eyes was the understanding that I merely meant for us to compete. I wasn’t interested in keeping it — though I do love the taste of catfish — I can’t bear to take life. It does not seem fair for me to decide such things — as with many aspects of my life. I cannot be the judge or executioner because I do not have all the data that explains the full breadth of my action.

Fish are a lot like people. They live, they breed, they feed and the die. It is the fundamental aspect of being an organic creature in our wonderful but strange world. What I like about the catfish is that they are extremely intelligent, and engaging them in a fight is truly satisfying, like playing chess with an unknown opponent. But make no mistake on the level if their intelligence. They will outwit you in a heart beat if you are not careful.

We often catch people in our lines. You toss out your line into the water or into the world, and you do no know what will come up. That’s the beauty of our world in all aspects. I have often found that we are constantly casting our lines out into the world — to find friends, lovers or like-minded individuals. It is all done blindly because we cannot know what our line will catch. It may be what we are looking for, but it may be something completely different. What’s more, is it may be something more amazing than what we had originally intended to catch or do battle with.

I throw my line out with no expectations of what I will or will not catch. I’ve learned that the moment I try to target something specific, it seldom yields the I wanted. Now, I’ve learned that the universe will give you what you need, when you need it. It is the learning to listen that becomes the challenge.

I spent my weekend with amazing people, living in each individual moment, trying to improve who I am. Everyone in your life — the ones that contribute something positive (not necessarily intellectually) — brings something useful and enriching to your existence. You many not immediately understand the connection, or even the purpose, but if you look at the serendipity of those you have met, you will find that you are being guided. This is not so say its someone controlling you. This is to say that your impact on the universe is recognized, and you just have to learn to listen to those prompts.

After 43 years, I am only beginning to understand the music of our universe. But, I will say that I have learned when to listen and when not to listen, because there is a fair amount of noise.

I wrote this post from a partially selfish perspective. I wanted to record this weekend, for future reference, but I also wanted to impart to you — my friends — that life can truly be magnificent. We simply need to see it for what it is — moment to moment.

I initially received this photo via email. It had gone to spam, since the address seemed a bit dodgy, and over the top in its attempt to scare me into clicking the photo — awarningtoall@gmail.com. Since there was no message, I simply deleted it, figuring it was some sort of mal-ware despite its unnerving appearance. However, a few days later, I received it again and it contained the following message:

Your world is distorted and spiraling ever further into chaos. This is by your design. You have failed to understand the purpose of your existence, and it is not for me to explain. It was your responsibility to evolve into something more than an all-consuming swarm of self-absorbed locusts. That is at an end now. I have worked silently, detected, yet unknown, hidden in plain sight and murdering benevolently. I gain no solace from my work, nevertheless, I must continue before you commit suicide, collectively and completely.

Before I continue with this first letter – the first of many to come – I want you to be clear on a few simple points. There is no point in trying to ascertain my identity or find me in any way. You will waste your time, because you cannot find me with the limited capabilities of your feeble minds. In addition, those of you who are unfortunate enough to be on my list, you cannot hide from me. You make my work easy through your insipid need to be noticed – tweeting, status updates, checking in, photos, blogging, and “selfies”. I can pluck you off the streets or out of your bed in the dead of night and there is no stopping me. My experience is vast in the art of observation and extermination. My purpose is very clear and I have no doubts about my mission. Doubt is a human characteristic. I am more than human. I know you because I began just as you do, wandering listlessly through existence without the faintest of ideas on purpose. Knowledge comes through experience, trial and error. Now, I can see things you are unable to see. I can see things you don’t want others to see – things you don’t want me to see.

You think your darkest deeds, secrets and wishes stay hidden within the thin space between your ears, yet it is recorded on the fabric of space and time for all eternity. Once something is known, it cannot be unknown. This is a fundamental law of the universe, just as I now embody one of its laws – all things must die. I can see the thoughts on the record of the cosmos, then follow the trail of putrid breadcrumbs that lead to those who most deserve punishment. The only law constraining me is that my punishment must be equal to the deed for which I will punish you. I am not the cruel one, I merely a product of your actions. Since the dawn of humanity, I have been among you. I chose to reveal myself now because your world is ending. Many will die, and not just by my hands. I watch your news and see that you are quite astute in the art of killing. The pity is that you kill at all. The evil ones kill on a whim as by-standers look on like soulless zombies, recording the atrocious acts on their electronic devices, for the same selfish reasons you do anything else in your empty lives – to attain a fleeting moment of notoriety on the internet or the evening news. This is the very reason your world will end, more rapidly than you can imagine. I have written this in the hopes that perhaps knowing these facts will change your ways, though I remain skeptical.

People from every aspect of your failed society litter my list, which I prioritized by the severity your immoral acts. Crimes against the pure and innocent I deal with swiftly and innocuously. I used to empathize with your race, but that has left me now – all that is left is pity. The more I observe, the more I find that single smudge of black floating in your soul, a scar of the deed you committed against another. These shards of darkness sing to me across time and space. Eventually, I will come for you unless you find a way to expunge it from your being, and make an act of true contrition. However, I must warn you that the only god that can save you is the god within yourself, which you refuse to see. You look to the heavens with empty eyes and hearts, begging for forgiveness from an entity who has long since ignored your disingenuous atonement. From this lack of hope, I am born.

There is no heaven or hell. Life is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. When the end does come, some will survive to rebuild. It will be their responsibility to learn from your mistakes, and perhaps I will slumber once more — but humanity has not allowed me to do so in a very long time. There are those among you who ensure that I have a constant supply of letches to eradicate from this world. You stray from the simple path easily, and you willingly destroy yourselves every moment of the day. You have unwittingly created the weapon of your mass destruction, and you are too blind to see it, even as you read this with skepticism and contempt in your heart. Your arrogance, your technology and your belief systems have brought us to this brief moment in the history of existence where the world will face its ultimate demise.

Why do I continue my work if the world is truly ending? The answer is very simple, even for you. I will pave the way for those who have remained true to themselves and realize their purpose. There are fewer and fewer of you left. You allow the licentiousness, debauchery and narcissism of others to dirty your souls, and only you can purge this from your being.

Those of you who have received or read this missive are targets for my list. As I said, I do have pity, for those who deserve it. It is through these series of letters that I will assist you in cleansing the darkness from the depths of your heart. You can begin by looking into the mirror. Stare into your eyes and see your soul as I see it. There, the deed will reveal itself, if you truly wish to see it – however, most of you will dismiss this. Once you stare into the darkness in your soul, you will see me staring back at you. It is at that moment that either your mind will accept this and make amends or you will punish yourself by retreating into the waiting arms of madness, imprisoned within your mind.

Spread this message, or do not. My job will continue. Now that you know I exist, you may think twice before evoking further maliciousness against others. If you do not, you should not be surprised when a stranger approaches you from the shadows to force your atonement, and witness the cruelty of which I am capable.

Apollyon

Has anyone else received this email? Seems like some sort of creepypasta to me. I haven’t emailed the person back because it could just be some marketing scheme, or a nutjob looking to find someone to mess with. But, if you have received it, please put a comment below.

There is code embedded in our genes. Much of this is governed by mathematical constants, ratios and equations. Why?

We do not know.

The beauty of our sun is irrefutable–a star adrift amongst a multitude of other kindred stars, a family so impossibly large one cannot be special. The family is called the Main Sequence. And we have found, spiraling around these other kindred stars, there are alien planets, strange and beautiful in their own right. One can look at any planet, either within or beyond our Solar Family, and find beauty in it, something wonderful.

One of my favorite books, and one of the first I ever read, is The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury — the Martian genocide. The allegory was immediately apparent to me, but, as I grow older, I find new rabbit holes to explore philosophically each time I read it. I have always been fascinated with ancient cultures, even fictitious ones. The strange, yet alluring, appeal to the Martian culture, for me, was its foundation in humility. History does not make a philosophy real — meaningful thoughts create the future of any philosophy. All we need do is not repeat the mistakes of the past, and history becomes irrelevant. The Martians as Bradbury created them were beautiful and admirable.

With spring here, we are often reminded of the beauty that exists in and beyond our world — despite the chaos and discontent depicted on the nightly news. Winter brings isolation, hibernation and introspection as we huddle beneath quilts, blankets and layers of clothes. Spring unleashes our creativity, with the palette of color splashed over our gardens, forests and parks. We take up our shovels and rakes to restore our yards to what we had before the cruel winter stripped it all away, leaving its mark as if to remind us that it will come again.

Now, you are probably wondering why I am mentioning all this. Why mention the Martians, beauty and our sun? The answer is as simple as the answer to the purpose of life. Life’s only purpose is the pure enjoyment of being.

There is a great deal of turmoil in our world, and it does not seem that there is an end in sight. It is not isolated to one region, people or country. It is a systemic problem that we continue to ignore. The Martian Chronicles is a quintessential lesson on how we as humans trod clumsily through our existence, scarcely aware of the problems we cause because we have not reached a deeper understanding of the nature of the universe or ourselves.

Life is a waking dream — we can mold it, enjoy it, and improve it– but first we must recognize we have the power within us. The purpose of my series The Waking Dream, is not only to entertain my readers, but also to plant that seed of suspended disbelief. Once we start to collectively understand that things can be better, we will crave for them to be better. This requires that we all get involved. And this has been my steadfast message.

For me, the Waking Dream is to create a culture much like the Bradbury’s Martians. A life full of philosophical discussion, creating beautiful things, and embracing the harmony that comes from a collective understanding, and engineering, of our reality. The easiest way to begin is to look skyward to the real master of our world, the Sun. Without its nurturing warmth, and tumultuous demeanor, our lives would be very different. But despite the dangers associated with being dependent on the sun, and its cyclical temper tantrums, it is nonetheless beautiful.

Our world is beautiful, yet, we were discontent to stay in the safety of its caves and caverns, so we have built temporary empires which will be long forgotten when we are no more. The sun and Earth will exist beyond our brief moment in history — billions of years beyond our comprehension. Each moment, each breath, each thought should be cherished. We learn from mistakes and move forward, ever pushed by the arrow of time.

At the beginning of this post I mentioned the code embedded in our genes that define our existence. This is only the operating system. We are all programmers with a keen, yet often overlooked, ability to write new code, new apps. These apps are not limited to our smart devices — “smart” being a grossly overstated term. We can reorder things by reprogramming the world around us — we do it all the time. Every time you move something from one side of the room to the other, you are reprogramming your environment, but this is only the most fundamental ability we have — overcoming gravity.

If we embrace the possibility that the universe is ours to mold, then we can explore new avenues of consciousness. We all have special abilities which we tend to ignore or keep to ourselves, for fear of being labeled negatively. We have a nasty habit of admonishing those who are different from the rest of the herd. This is an instinct we must learn to overcome. Are the things that interest you really things you enjoy, or do you do them because everyone else is? This is a flaw in our societal structure. We are individuals first, and community second. At the end of it all, you will leave this planet by yourself — how do you want to be remembered?

I’ve talked on many occasions about our inherent abilities, things we don’t talk about with a sense of earnestness — telepathy, empathy, telekinesis, communing with the dead. But why are these concepts so difficult for us to grasp as possible. Nothing is impossible, and we know this due to our exploration of the quantum world. However, some things are highly improbable. For instance, a single electron has the probability of being anywhere in the universe at a given moment — the probability never makes it to zero. They pop in and out of existence in ways we cannot understand. There are strange attractions between certain particles that allow them to communicate with one another instantaneously over limitless space, defying what we know about the speed of light. We have only just begun Kindergarten in the school of the universe.

The code in our genes is what allows us to operate on auto-pilot — breathing, protecting, foraging. It also tends to hinder us as we rely on our instincts as well as our social engineering to define us. Whenever I feel as if I am straying from the path I’ve set before myself, I look to the sun and ponder its existence. From a distance it is a perfect orb of glowing life, but up close it is a tempest of plasma and fire. The same can be said of our world. From a distance it is a shining jewel in the crown of the sun, but as we look beneath the clouds, we are a hurricane raging across the planet, unable to find peace in our existence. We are ever rushing forward to meet the future without taking time to enjoy the now.

We must look to the future, so that we can clear a path through existence. But we must ensure that we don’t forget to enjoy our being. The easiest way for one to do that is to step away from the computer, go outside and feel the warmth of the sun on our skin, smell the fragrance of life being renewed, and look within ourselves and ask, “Am I happy?” This question is the most difficult to explore.

Today the sun is shining, and it is a pleasant day. Despite being at work, I steal moments to stand outside and look to the sky. Summer is coming, the flowers are in bloom, and before we know it, we will be back in hibernation. But in the time we are active, we should explore new ways, within ourselves, to change the world around us. Things are not horrible, but they are not what we should want. We should collectively create a dream in which we all are happy, and each of us must strive to make it happen.

You are more than you think you are. We are all stars, we are all god, we are all beautiful. Be different, be yourself, be wonderful and the universe will reveal itself to you.

I have not forgotten about the rest of the story I started, however, lately I have been working on several different projects that have been coordinating. But, things are moving along nicely.

Before I get into today’s post I did want to mention that there are several things coming out over the next few months that may be of interest to you:

1) The Little Book of Dreams: This is the bible or Necronomicon for the Waking Dream. It is a major expansion on material that I have already published on The Way of the Weird. I feel its time that you should know more about the Waking Dream.

2) Getting to Devlin: This is a Waking Dream Young Adult novel, with events leading up to the first novel, Waking Dream: Devlin. This is a collaborative work.

3) Super Secret Project: I am collaborating with others on a series and though it is not a Waking Dream novel, it will have elements of the Waking Dream woven within. I will have more information on this in the coming months. I am very excited about the project.

4) Waking Dream: The Unkindness: I have been working diligently on this book, however, I feel I want to take my time until others are more familiar with the series. Fear not, it is coming, and you won’t see it coming.

5) Shadow of the Soul: This is another Lovecraftian piece I am working on for exclusive publication on Kindle and it will be finished by mid summer.

I thank you all for your continued support! Now, my top 13 books to dream by. These books were major inspiration to my writing, and I feel everyone interested in my work would find these books equally inspiring:

I mention these particular books because they were instrumental in helping me formulate my ideas about life, spirituality and the universe. All of these I have read numerous times, and each time, I find something new and noteworthy as a read. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Mark Meier, a fellow writer, asked me to join a blog tour last week. I am very grateful to be recognized by my colleagues and be asked to join in the fun!

Before I answer the questions for the tour, I’d like to introduce another blogger/writer with amazing insight and ability, Victoria Craven. Victoria runs the blog, The Autodidact in the Attic, which focuses on the macabre, horror and a wide variety of intellectual stimulus. Here is her bio:

V.L. Craven lives with her husband and pets. She writes fiction—both short and long—and reviews of books, films & art, as well as essays, articles and interviews with all sorts of interesting people.

She’s always appreciated the darker side of life, which is the focus of her blog The Autodidact in the Attic, (see also its Facebook page). TAitA has reviews of books, films, art, apps and games (and interviews with creators of those things) that will appeal to people with an interest in the macabre or gothic.

She will be posting her answers to the blog tour questions next Monday, so do yourself a favor and check out her amazing site.

Now on to my answers:

1) What am I working on?

I am always working on a variety of projects simultaneously, that’s just how my brain works. Right now, I am doing a serial short story on this blog, writing Book II in the Waking Dream Series — The Unkindness — and I am involved in a collaborative series with two other authors (details to come later this year). My Waking Dream Series is the primary focus and I am always doing research as the it covers alternate history, philosophy, and science.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I write novels and short stories. My short stories tend to be very dark. My favorite short stories are the ones I write in Lovecraftian style. I am no Lovecraft, mind you, however I have enormous respect for his creations and imagination.

The Waking Dream series is really a mixture of many genres, so it is very hard to put it in any one box — I am not a fan of being pigeonholed. The Waking Dream Series is an attempt to blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Much of the subject matter is based on years of research. I have always been fascinated with the paranormal and the supernatural — specifically the potential of the human mind. The Waking Dream is my attempt to present a plausible framework for readers to suspend their disbelief and explore their own lives. Life is a dream, if you really think about it. We always have control over how our lives go, no matter the situation. And once you believe that, you can do anything.

The Waking Dream series has elements of horror, paranormal, supernatural, romance, dystopia, apocalyptic events and fantasy. It is very dark. One of my fans put it, “It’s the Matrix meets The Stand”. The first book is my Fellowship of the Ring. It is the twilight before the sun sets on our world. The subsequent books will descend further into the darkness of reality and the human mind.

One final note, there are many things hidden within the stories and novels, tying them together as well as giving avid readers something to discover within the text. Everything in the Waking Dream Series is carefully calculated. What have you found hidden within the story?

3) Why do I write what I do?

I love to create worlds. The Waking Dream is, as I mentioned, an attempt to impart all I’ve learned about the human condition and get the reader to explore and create their own dream. The world seems to be at an impasse, and we are not moving forward as we should from a philosophical sense. While the Waking Dream is fiction, there are elements of truth in ever sentence I write — the things I believe to be true.

I write the Lovecraftian stories because I want his legacy to continue, as well as many other authors. Being able to create a story that emulates the master gives me a sense of humility. Many writers have walked in his footsteps, but his personal commitment to his craft is something to be admired, respected and remembered for all time.

4) How does my writing process work?

I don’t have a specific process for writing. When I feel like writing, I write. And because I have a wide variety of projects I am working on at any given time, I choose the project to work on that most suits my particular mood. I believe that an author needs to be prolific to be successful. Very few authors become successful with one book, or even their first book. The more work you have out, you have a better chance of being discovered by new readers. It is a snowball effect.

One thing I do tend to stick to in any project is that I usually begin with an illustration. Next to writing, illustrating is one of my favorite hobbies. I have over 50 illustrations for the Waking Dream, as well as maps. I want the Waking Dream to be similar to the Cthulhu Mythos so that other authors can contribute their own stories to the ever-growing Waking Dream Universe.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this little excursion into my writing career. Perhaps you’ll be interested in reading my work, which is listed on the right side bar. Please be sure to check out Victoria Craven’s answers next Monday on her blog.

Again, it is a novella, and it is a stand alone story that happens between Book I and Book II in the series.

I know that many of you have been reading the story, but I decided to release the book on Kindle to gain a larger audience than my blog.

I have decided to curtail language in my future books so that this series can appeal to both adults and young adults. Book I has one small section with language, however, it is nothing that young adults have not already been subjected to. The world is not perfect, and I am not Mary Poppins.

The underlying story of the Waking Dream is about understanding that we all have the power to change the world to what we want. And I know that will begin with our children.

You can read this novella and decide whether or not the Waking Dream is for you. Its not for everyone! But, I assure you, you can’t truly be a Dreamer until you see what lies ahead.

Today I wanted to tell you about a new project I am working on. This is something that I have given a great deal of thought to, and I have been asked by my friends and fans to discuss the philosophy behind my Waking Dream series.

The philosophy behind the Waking Dream is much more than a simple dark fantasy adventure story. I truly believe that we all have the ability to change the course of our reality. Dreamers are the ones who have that ability, and anyone can become a Dreamer, you just have to learn how to do so.

So, in response to all these questions from interviews, friends and fans, I am beginning a new project to be released at about the same time as the next book in the series, The Unkindness. This book will be called The Little Book of Dreams – Libellus Somnium, and it will be a non-fiction view of a new philosophy I have formulated called Mism, the Merger of all Isms. (Taoism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Communism, you get the idea). You can read the abstract at this link, and my view on creation. This is only the beginning.

The book is targeted to those who want to lead a more peaceful and meaningful existence. This is not to say that I have perfected my implementation of Mism in my life, but that is because we are not, and cannot, be perfect. Perfection is a myth, and a fruitless pursuit. We will always be learning, experiencing and evolving. But, I can say with profound certainty that we are eternal spirits. The body you inhabit now is just a vehicle. It allows you to experience the world, and experience the universe. When it is broken, you fix it. When it completely fails, you abandon it and get a new one to continue your journey.

Many people believe that there must be some specific purpose to life. There is and there isn’t. You create your purpose based on what you want to experience. The only innate purpose to life is to live and create the universe. We are all responsible for taking care of ourselves and one another, because we share a Oneness with each other. We all affect one another, therefore we are inexorably linked. My action causes your reaction. Reading this article will invoke thought, negative or positive, and that demonstrates the connection between us.

I always start off my blog posts calling you Dreamers, because those who read my blog are Dreamers, or want to be. And the more people I draw in, the more we can share intellectual discourse on how best to reshape our world. So writing The Little Book of Dreams will simply be a compilation of all that I have learned and infused into my life, as well as the stories and novels that make up the Waking Dream Universe.

I also believe in the Weirdness. That may sound strange to you, because it is just my word for magic. Do I believe that magic exists? Not in the Tolkien way, such as fireballs, wizards and dragons. I believe that each of us possesses an inherent ability that super-cedes conventional physics and what we perceive as impossible. I have seen and experienced many of these abilities in other people. Nothing is impossible — somethings just may not be probable, as we have learned through quantum mechanics.

At the core of Mism, we must understand that to completely understand ourselves and the universe, we must merge all of our disparate ideas into a cohesive framework that allows science and religion to coexist and explain each other. We would remove the distinction between the two and label it a philosophy of life. A Philosophy of Everything, if you will.

Now, you are probably asking yourself, who is this guy to tell me anything? The answer to that is very simple, I am the sum of everything everyone living and dead has taught me. And you are the sum of the same. I did not create this by myself, all of you have contributed to this idea, in one way or another.

Finally, you are probably asking, why would I bother to write this all down. And you are free to agree or disagree with me. But I am writing this down, because it takes just one thought to make a change. Look around you, look at the state of the world. Is this the ideal world you want to live in? Do you feel that the right decisions are being made? Do you have fear for the future? Are you concerned about what we are leaving our children? Have you lost your way? Do you know what you want out of your life?

I am going to give you my perspective on what truly matters, and hopefully in the process, I will learn more about you, so that I can improve myself as a person, and in turn make the world a better place for us all.

Have a wonderful day, and I thank you for listening to me babble, as always.

I get asked on many occasions why I’ve spent so much time working on this series before I wrote the book. Part of it was procrastination, but the biggest reason was the allegory behind the Waking Dream.

When I was a kid, I was very much enamored by H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos. The idea of a writer creating a framework for other writers to contribute to was fascinating to me. And since the story “The Call of Cthulhu” was released in 1926, scores of renowned authors have taken their turn to try to rouse the Ancient Ones from their slumber.

I initially came up with the idea for the Waking Dream in 1995 as a Dungeons and Dragons style role-playing game. It was first premiered on Internet Relay Chat, where I had over 100 people playing at any given time. But as I began to write these elaborate story lines for others to interact with, it occurred to me that it would be more useful to write stories and novels, rather than a bunch of rules and dice play. The Waking Dream began to evolve.

I stepped away from the online role-play world and began to do serious research on how to make the Waking Dream a framework. But along the way, it started to become something much more than that. It started to become a philosophical debate on the nature of existence – a subject that has haunted me my entire adult life. I have for a long time stopped reading fiction, and jumped headlong into physics, cosmology, religion, philosophy, mathematics and metaphysics. And along the way, I created an entire universe populated by Dreamers, Sleepers and Immortals and solved — in my mind — the answers to our universe.

It does not matter really what comprises the universe, how it came to be, or where it will go from here. What does matter is the voyage and exploration of the self and understanding that we are all connected at a fundamental level, and the universe is our playground. We have gone about our search for the answer in the wrong way. Rather than trying to understand our consciousness and our spirit, we’ve leaped into the abyss, searching for answers in the stars — but the answer is in each and every one of us.

The Waking Dream books and stories and framework are to give us a way to be children again, when we looked at everything with wonder. Magic and Monsters are everywhere, we’ve just chosen not to see them in the same way we once did. We’ve allowed what we call the “common reality” — what the majority believes to be true — to make us blind to the true nature of the universe and thus, ourselves.

For me, the Waking Dream is not about making money, it’s about throwing a new idea out on the table for everyone to see. And in turn, I expect others to take up the mantle and submit their own stories about the Waking Dream. Because, in the Waking Dream anything is possible. And if we all take a moment to realize the Dream as something wonderful, it will be wonderful. But at the moment, we are creating a nightmare.

Waking Dream: Devlin is just the first of many novels to come. If you are looking to escape for just a little while, and you believe in any of the things I have said, I believe you will enjoy walking with me in the Waking Dream.

The day has finally come! Waking Dream: Devlin is now available for order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble! Ordering today ensures that you will have your copy by Monday and you can start to explore the Waking Dream Universe! There are already six 5 star reviews for the book.

My last post was about the Weird and Weirdness. Today we will delve into the three distinct realms that make up the Waking Dream Universe. But before I get into that, I’d like to discuss the fabric of our known universe, as it is defined today.

Let’s begin.

Physicists and cosmologists have been trying to define our universe and its structure for many years. The only thing they have theorized at this point is that the universe is composed of three things: 73% dark energy, 23% dark matter and 4% ordinary matter. And, though this theory is there, there is no concrete explanation for dark energy or dark matter. It’s dark because its beyond our ability to see. Which I have interpreted that dark matter and dark energy exist in a different “dimensions” if you will. While it is theorized that dark energy is expanding our universe, which is explained as all the galaxies are moving away from one another. I do not subscribe to this theory, as proposed by Edwin Hubble for three reasons. A) We cannot make assumptions about the expanding universe based on less than a hundred years of observation on a universe that is 13+ billion years old, B) astronomers Alexander Kashlinsky, F. Atrio-Barandela, D. Kocevski and H. Ebeling have provided a compelling argument that shows that there are galaxies moving in a “dark flow” to some unseen “great attractor” and C) Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way Galaxy are going to have a head on collision in about 4 billion years (But don’t worry, our sun will have exploded by then). Now let’s move on to the Waking Dream view of the universe.

The Three Realms

The Waking Dream

The Waking Dream is the physical reality in which all ordinary matter exists. This is the realm of the Dreamers. The Waking Dream is, in essence, the playground of the soul where the world can be molded and shaped by the will of the soul, which manifests itself in the form of Weirdness. The Waking Dream is every changing and is constantly subjected to transformations. There are two types, a Minor Transformation, and a Great Transformation. A Minor Transformation can take any form that shifts the dream in a different direction. Such as the Renaissance, or the Age of Reason. A Great Transformation completely and utterly changes the course of the Dream to the point where all Dreamers and Immortals begin again from scratch and the world is transformed to something new and different.

The Spaces Between

As discussed in previous posts, the Spaces Between is the realm from which all consciousness and creative force emanates. This is the realm of the Weird and it is where all life begins. The structure of the Spaces Between resembles an interconnected web of glowing cobalt blue strands, representing the movements, memories and experiences of all those in the Waking Dream. This is where all knowledge is collected and used by the Dreamers and Immortals to mold the Waking Dream with their respective Weirdness abilities.

The Spaces Between is not a docile place, such as the depictions of heaven. It is a tumultuous storm of thought, energy and creatures. The creatures that inhabit the Spaces Between occasionally gain access to our world through portals, and this is where the notion of “monster” comes from. Some creatures prey on weak or newly formed Dreamers.

Newly formed Dreamers find the Spaces Between to be terrifying, because they do not possess the inherent understanding of their purpose. It is through finding other experienced Dreamers that they learn how chose their Sleeper vessel and enter the Waking Dream for the first time.

The Sleeping Dream

The consciousness/mind is never idle. The brain regulates all of the internal systems of the body while it sleeps. All bodies require regeneration and rest, but the consciousness does not. This is the purpose of the Sleeping Dream.

The Sleeping Dream is a solipsistic realm where the only consciousness that exists therein is the Dreamer who is sleeping. It is here that the Dreamer can hone their abilities without affecting the Waking Dream. They can re-live experiences in their current existence, or if they are Immortal, they can re-live experiences from all their incarnations. Some have even created entire worlds to inhabit and have a dream within a dream. Dreamers have complete control while they are in the Sleeping Dream, and the more experience they have, the more they can control the aspects of the Sleeping Dream. They have limitless power within the Sleeping Dream, yet, this is only after they have accepted that they can do anything that they cannot readily do within the Waking Dream. The Sleeping Dream for every Dreamer exists within the confines of their bodies.

Sleepers do not have the same abilities in the Sleeping Dream. They are only able to process their current thoughts. The Sleeping Dream, for a Sleeper, exposes their mind to the Spaces Between to allow incorporeal Dreamers to see into their lives to decide whether they want to inhabit a particular Sleeper, or enter the Waking Dream and observe the Sleeper before making their decision to possess the Sleeper.

Conclusion

This final part concludes, for now, the exploration of the Waking Dream. These five posts have been structured to give you a glimpse of things to come, as well as understand the mythos behind the series. As future books in the series are released, I will start a new line of blog postings to explain things as we move forward. To expose anything further would be a spoiler for those who have not already read the first edition of Waking Dream: Devlin.

Remember, Waking Dream: Devlin Book I in the Transformation Series will be released this Sunday through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and all the major eBook services. The Trade Paperback is $15.95 (USD) and eBook is $7.99 (USD). Part of the proceeds from my book sales will go towards a scholarship fund for local High School students, and another portion will be donated to Anti-Bullying Campaigns.